MANY EVACUATED

Chronicle (Levin), 1 June 1948, Page 5

MANY EVACUATED

Received Mondav, 7 p.m. NEW VORK, May 30. For the iirsl time in history, Vuncouver's rail Jinks with Easterii Ganada were eut today as the result oi disastrous lioods sweeping not onh British Columbia but also tlie Xorth AYest Pacilie areas oi' Fnited States. The tracks of both major lines were awash and all serviees to and from Vancouver were eaneelled. Five hundred passengers were stranded in l'our 1 rains of tlie Canadian Pacilie Railways. Two trains of the Canadian Xational Railways also were tied up. Some relief came wlien C.P.R. arranged a comhined t raiii-bus-{)lane sei'vice u hei-euuder ])assengers were sent by rail to Kelowna, thence by bus to Penticlon and thence by air to Vaiicoin cr. Three of tlie eompany's 25-passeiiger planes were flown from Montreal to operate this shidlle service.

The silt laden Frascr River fiowed over 50,(M)() acres of agricnltural lands. d-s1 roying grain, vegetable and fruit crops and causing damage which will run into many mifJions of dollars. Thousands of people were either evaciiated or assembled for cvacuation from many areas. The Xuvy, Army and Air Force comiiincd in "operation overflow" to send hundreds of servicemen with thousands of eivilian volunteers into the flooded areas and menaeecl dislriets. The serviees inobilised all the available planes, army trucks. ei'asli boats and othei' naval craft as Avell as motor shovels, giant bulldozers and explosives for tlie vast task of evacuating refugees and cheeking the onrush of tlie swiriing waters. The Xavy coneentrated on evacuations, the Army on battling with ihe watei'-threatened dykes, and the Air Force on dropping food supplies and flving in thousands of sandbags. The deathroll has risen to '■ighteen. 1 1 is estimated that in 'uvgon. Washnigton and Idaho alone. the floods will eause damage totalling 30,000,000 dollars.